The gaming, amusement and vending industry has undergone substantial changes to incorporate electrical and mechanical technological advancements into the products. These advancements are all toward an aim of achieving increased participation of players in an attempt to increase or maintain revenues.
In one field of the amusement industry, coin, token or money operated machines are available to test the skill or coordination of the player and provide a corresponding reward. In one type of amusement machine commonly used, an operator manipulates manual controls to move a crane to grab a prize, and then deliver the prize to the player. While such type of amusement machines were highly successful at one time, they are now overshadowed by the newer video gaming machines which require skill and coordination, but where the reward is not a physical object. In the crane type of amusement machines noted above, a simple gantry design robot provides the player with the prize delivery, but such mechanism is bulky, prone to breakage and often provided limited reliability. Further, the minimal skill and/or coordination required is no longer a challenge to players, as compared to the other video and other types of higher technology games.
It can be seen from the foregoing, that there is a need for a new type of gaming machine where a higher level of skill and/or coordination is required in order to deliver a physical prize to the participant. A further need exists for a mechanism movable according to numerous degrees of freedom, so that the success of obtaining a physical prize is more dependent upon the skill and coordination of the user, rather than by chance. A further need exists for a new type of gaming machine that can readily compete, in terms of user participation, with other well-known video arcade games.